Sixth Congress of the RSDLP (B) - August 1917
AUGUST
1917. PROTOCOLS
INSTITUTE
OF MARXISM-LENINISM
The
minutes of the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) are one of the main sources for
studying the activities of the CPSU during the preparation of the Great October
Socialist Revolution.
After the shooting of the peaceful July demonstration, state power in the country actually ended up in the hands of the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie, which relied on the military clique. The bourgeoisie won a temporary victory over the revolutionary forces. The dual power characteristic of the first months of the revolution is over. The Soviets, with their Menshevist-Socialist-Revolutionary leadership "due to the fact that they did not take all state power into their own hands in time," turned into accomplices of the Provisional Government, which continued the imperialist policy of war and the elimination of political freedoms in the country. “After July 4,” wrote V.I. Lenin, “the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie, hand in hand with the monarchists and the Black Hundreds, annexed the petty-bourgeois Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, partly intimidating them, and handed the actual state power into the hands of the Cavaignacs, into the hands of a military gang. , shooting defenders at the front, crushing the Bolsheviks in St. Petersburg ".
On
July 7, the Provisional Government issued an order to arrest the leader of the
Bolshevik Party, V.I. Lenin. The party was forced to move to a semi-legal
position. V. I. Lenin took refuge in deep underground.
The
new political situation in the country posed an urgent task for the party to
develop new tactics that would ensure the implementation of the
strategic plan adopted by the 7th (April) Conference, calculated for the victory
of the socialist revolution.
While
underground, VI Lenin wrote a number of articles that helped the party to
correctly orient itself in the situation after the July days, to determine the
forms of party work and ways of further struggle for the victory of the
socialist revolution. In the articles "Three Crises",
"Political Situation", "On Slogans" and others, V. I.
Lenin gave a deep analysis of the alignment and correlation of class forces in
the country and, on the basis of this, concluded that it was necessary a new
course - towards an armed uprising. “All hopes for the peaceful development
of the Russian revolution have completely disappeared. The objective
situation: either the victory of the military dictatorship to the end, or the
victory of the armed uprising of the workers, possible only if it coincides
with a deep mass uprising against the government and against the bourgeoisie on
the basis of economic devastation and dragging out the war, ”wrote V. I. Lenin
in his article“ Political position ".
Lenin
proposed to temporarily remove the slogan "All power to the
Soviets" and put forward the slogan of a decisive struggle against
counter-revolution, for the transfer of power into the hands of the proletariat
and the poorest peasantry. At the same time, Lenin explained that the
withdrawal of the slogan "All power to the Soviets" does not at
all mean that the party refuses to fight for the power of the Soviets, that
this is not a question of Soviets in general, but a question of combating this
counter-revolution and the betrayal of these Soviets.
Considering
the Soviets as the greatest achievement of the Russian revolution, as the most
expedient form of the revolutionary organization of the masses in their
struggle for the dictatorship of the proletariat, V.I. stated; “Soviets can and must
appear in this new revolution, but not the present Soviets, not organs of
compromise with the bourgeoisie, but organs of the revolutionary struggle
against it. That even then we will be in favor of building the entire state
according to the type of Soviets, it is so ”.
In
the articles of V. I. Lenin, the main provisions of the party policy adopted by
the VI Congress were determined.
An
enormous role in the direction of the work of the congress was played by
Lenin's article "On Slogans", which was published as a separate brochure
during the congress and was adopted by the delegates of the congress as a
guideline defining the line of the party's activities at this stage of the
revolution. In addition, V.I. Lenin wrote specifically for the congress theses
on the political situation, which have not yet been found.
The
VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) was held on July 26 (August 8) - August 3 (16),
1917 in Petrograd. The congress conducted its work semi-legally. The press
announced only the convocation of the congress but did not indicate the place
of its meetings. The threat of closing the congress from the side of the
Provisional Government was so real that it was necessary not only to change the
place of the congress meetings, but also to hold elections for members of the
Central Committee long before its end, and also to shorten the duration of the
congress.
The
congress was attended by 157 delegates with a casting vote and a PO with a
consultative vote, representing 162 party organizations. By the time of
the congress, the parties numbered 240,000 members. The ideological
leadership of the entire work of the congress was carried out by V.I. Lenin
through his students and associates: I.V. Stalin, Y. M. Sverdlov, G.K.
Ordzhonikidze, and others.
One
of the first at the congress to discuss was the question of VI Lenin's
appearance for trial by the counter-revolutionary Provisional Government.
The congress spoke out against Lenin's appearance for trial, believing that it
would not be a trial, but a reprisal against the leader of the party. The
congress protested against the bourgeois police persecution of the leader of
the revolution and sent greetings to V.I., Lenin.
The
main issues that determined the direction of the entire work of the congress
were: the political report of the Central Committee and the report on the
political situation, which JV Stalin delivered on behalf of the Central
Committee.
The
reports of the Central Committee set forth the guidelines of VI Lenin,
summarize the activities of the Bolshevik Party since the 7th (April)
Conference, and summarize the experience of the Party's work in the struggle
for the masses. They contain a Leninist assessment of the political situation
in the country after the July events, a deep analysis of the alignment of class
forces within the country and in the world arena and outlined prospects for the
further development of the revolution. The reports of the Central Committee set
forth the political line of the party at the new stage of the revolution,
charted a course for an armed uprising.
Following
Lenin's instructions, the Sixth Congress withdrew the slogan "All Power
to the Soviets" and gave a resolute rebuff both to those who opposed
the withdrawal of the slogan "All Power to the Soviets" and to those
who regarded the temporary withdrawal of this slogan as the party's refusal to
fight for it in general. The congress put forward the slogan of the struggle
for the complete liquidation of the dictatorship of the
counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie and the conquest of power by the proletariat
in alliance with the poorest peasantry through an armed uprising.
The
congress gave a decisive rebuff to the opportunist elements who opposed the
party's course towards a socialist revolution, who considered the victory of
socialism in Russia impossible. The congress unanimously rejected the
anti-Leninist, essentially Trotskyist line of Preobrazhensky, who
proposed in the resolution on the political situation to indicate that our
country could be directed along the socialist path only if there is a
proletarian revolution in the West. The anti-Leninist point of view of
Bukharin was also exposed, who argued that the peasantry was defencist,
that it was in a bloc with the bourgeoisie and would not follow the working
class. Denying the alliance of the working class and the poorest peasantry in
the socialist revolution, Preobrazhensky and Bukharin opposed the Leninist
theory of the possibility of the victory of socialism initially in a few or
even one, separately taken, capitalist country in the era of imperialism, did
not believe in the strength of the proletariat, in its ability to lead the
peasantry along the socialist path.
In
its decisions, the congress emphasized with special force the Leninist thesis
on the alliance of the working class and the poorest peasantry as the
main condition for the victory of the socialist revolution. The congress
expressed confidence that the inevitable new upsurge of the Russian revolution
would put the workers and the poorest peasants in power before the socialist
revolution in the capitalist countries of the West.
The
VI Congress discussed and approved the economic platform of the Party, in which
the provisions set forth in the April Theses of V.I. Lenin and in the decisions
of the VII (April) Conference on Economic Issues were developed. The main
points of the platform: the establishment of workers 'control over production
and distribution, the nationalization and centralization of banks, the
nationalization of large-scale syndicated industry, the confiscation of
landowners' land and the nationalization of all land, the organization of a
correct exchange between town and country. The Congress resolution on the
economic situation emphasized that the implementation of this platform
presupposes the transfer of state power into the hands of the working class.
The
temporary victory of the counter-revolution after the July days not only did
not retard the growth of the party but caused an influx of new members into the
party from among the workers and peasants. Y. M. Sverdlov in his report on the
organizational activities of the Central Committee noted that since the 7th
(April) conference the number of party members has increased threefold, and the
number of organizations more than doubled. Party organizations grew
especially rapidly in industrial centers. The Petrograd organization from
April to July increased from 16 thousand to 36 thousand members, the Moscow
city - from 7 to 15 thousand, the Central Industrial Region by the VI Congress
had more than 50 thousand party members, the Urals - 25 thousand, the Donetsk
Basin - 16 thousand members. By the Sixth Congress, the party was a truly
mass workers' party.
Reports
from the field occupied an important place at the congress. A total of 19
reports were heard, 5 of them from military organizations. The speakers
noted the steady growth of the influence of the Bolsheviks among the workers,
soldiers and peasants. In the reports of the military organizations of Moscow,
Kronstadt, Helsingfors, the Riga and Romanian fronts, it was noted that the
influence of Bolshevik organizations among soldiers and sailors was growing.
The military organization of the party from April to July grew from 6 to 26
thousand party members. Reports from the field testified to the tremendous work
of the Bolsheviks among the masses to create a political army of the
socialist revolution.
The
Bolshevik press played an important role in strengthening the Party's influence
among the masses. From the questionnaire on the party press given at the 6th
Congress, it is clear that by the day of the congress the party had 41 publications
with a total daily circulation of 235,000 copies, not counting Pravda,
which was published daily with an average circulation of 85,000 copies. Out of
41 printed organs, 14 were published in the national languages of the peoples
of Russia: Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, etc.
At
the congress, great attention was paid to the work of the party in the trade
unions. The congress condemned the Menshevik theory of the neutrality of
the trade unions, clearly and clearly defined their tasks in the new political
conditions as militant organizations of the working class. The congress called
on all party members to join the trade unions and take an active part in their
work.
The
Sixth Congress comprehensively discussed the question of the leadership of the
Bolshevik Party in unions of working youth. By the opening of the
congress, socialist unions of working youth were created in many large centers:
in Petrograd, Moscow, Riga and other industrial cities. The congress pointed
out the need for party leadership of youth unions and their transformation into
socialist organizations: “At the present time, when the struggle of the working
class is passing into the phase of direct struggle for socialism, the
congress considers the promotion of the creation of class socialist
organizations of working youth one of the urgent tasks of the moment and
imposes Party organizations are obliged to pay maximum attention to this work
”, - written in the resolution on youth unions, adopted by the VI Congress. In
a special decision "On courses for instructors," the congress
instructed the Central Committee of the Party to create courses for instructors
on the organization and leadership of socialist youth unions.
The
congress adopted a new party charter. Paragraph 1 of the Charter on membership
was supplemented by the requirement that party members be subordinate to all
party regulations; for the first time were established: the recommendation
of two party members when accepting new members and their approval by the
general meeting of the party organization and the regular payment of membership
fees in the amount of 1% of the received wages. The new Party Rules demanded a
restructuring of all party work from top to bottom on the basis of the Leninist
principle of democratic centralism.
The
6th Congress adopted a resolution "On Propaganda", which indicated
the need to strengthen the party's agitational and propaganda work among the
masses, to organize party schools to train propagandists from among the
proletarian intelligentsia and to publish popular science literature.
On
the question of uniting the party, the Sixth Congress, following Lenin's
instructions, set before the party the task of rallying around itself all the
truly internationalist elements of Social Democracy, ready to decisively break
with the defencists. The congress condemned all proposals for broad
unification and the creation of a single Social Democratic Party. At the VI
Congress, the Mezhraiontsy were admitted to the party, who declared a
complete break with the defencists, and their agreement with the Bolshevik
line.
The
congress defined the tasks and tactics of the party in the election campaign
for the Constituent Assembly. The congress indicated that, with the approval of
the Central Committee, electoral blocs with internationalist elements that
broke with the defencists, as well as with non-party revolutionary
organizations (with the Soviets of Deputies, with land committees, etc.), which
fully adopted the Bolshevik platform, are permissible in the elections to the
Constituent Assembly.
The
congress elected a Central Committee headed by V. I. Lenin.
The
Sixth Congress directed the party towards an armed uprising, towards a
socialist revolution. All decisions of the congress were aimed at preparing the
working class and the poorest peasantry for an armed uprising against the
dictatorship of the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie.
The
congress instructed the newly elected Central Committee to develop and issue,
on behalf of the VI Congress of the party, a "Manifesto of the Russian
Social Democratic Labor Party to all working people, to all workers, soldiers
and peasants of Russia." The manifesto called on workers, soldiers and
peasants to stubbornly prepare for decisive battles against the bourgeoisie for
the victory of the socialist revolution. “Get ready for new battles, our comrades
in arms! Steadfastly, courageously and calmly, not succumbing to provocation,
save up your strength, line up in battle columns! Under the banner of the
party, proletarians and soldiers! Under our banner, oppressed villages! ”- said
in the concluding part of the Manifesto.
This
edition of the minutes of the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) is based on the
printed text of the first edition of the minutes published by the Kommunist
publishing house in 1919. The minutes of the congress were reissued in 1927 by
the Istpart of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party) and in
1934 by the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute at the Central Committee of the Soviet
Communist Party (b).
The
sessions of the Congress were not recorded in shorthand. The speeches at
the congress were recorded by a group of Petrograd party workers. After
the congress, all the notes were compiled into one manuscript, which was published
in 1919. The manuscript has not been found to date.
The
text of the minutes of this publication is compared with the reports on the
work of the VI Congress, published in the newspapers Rabochy and Soldier,
Proletary and Sotsial-Democrat for July-August 1917. In addition, a record
of the VI Congress delegate K-A. Kozlov was used, kept in the
Central Party Archives of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central
Committee of the CPSU. Obvious typos in the text of the protocols were
corrected without reservations. All clarifications of the text, its additions
are given in footnotes indicating the sources on the basis of which they were
introduced.
In
this edition, the dates in the text of the minutes are in the old style as in
the first edition of the minutes. Dual style is given in editorial text only.
JV
Stalin's reports — a report on the political work of the Central Committee and
a report on the political situation — are given in the text of the minutes. But
in view of the obvious insufficiency and brevity of the presentation of the
text of the reports in the minutes, in this edition in the section
"Materials of the Congress" there are official reports on the
reports of I. V. Stalin, published in July - August 1917 in the newspapers
"Worker and Soldier" No. 14 and Proletary No. 3, covering
individual passages of the reports more accurately and fully.
The
present edition of the minutes has been supplemented with new materials
related to the congress. In the section "Materials of the Congress" for
the first time there are greetings to the Congress that were not included
in the text of the minutes. The list of delegates in this section has been
significantly expanded and corrected in comparison with the list in
previous editions. In addition, 82 people were added to the list of delegates
with an advisory vote, a list of congress participants was given, among whom,
possibly, in addition to delegates and a person with guest tickets, and a list
of delegates elected by organizations, but who did not arrive at the congress
for various reasons that did not depend on them, circumstances. Several
corrections and clarifications have been made to the list of voting delegates.
All these corrections and clarifications were made on the basis of a study of
documentary materials, as well as reports from local party archives and
personal confirmation of delegates to the congress. Changes and additions to
the lists of delegates are specified in the footnotes.
The
section "Appendices" contains for the first time published 69
questionnaires of the Central Committee (questionnaires) filled in by the
delegates of the Congress. These documents contain valuable factual material on
the state and activity of party organizations in the localities by the time of
the VI Congress. The originals of the questionnaires are kept in the
Central Party Archives of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central
Committee of the CPSU.
Decoding
of individual words in the text of the protocols and in documents and modern
spelling are given without reservations. The words included in the text by the
editors are in brackets.
This
edition of the minutes of the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) is supplied with a
reference apparatus consisting of notes to the text and indexes of the names
mentioned in the text, party organizations, periodicals and literary works and
sources.
The
publication has been prepared for publication by S. I. Shchegoleva. Assistant
to the preparatory teacher: T. G. Breneisen, K. N. Uryvaeva and L. D.
Raimbekova. Editors - G. D. Obichkin and M. D. Stuchebnikova.
Institute
of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU
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